American Express Business Platinum just took points credit cards to a whole new level with 50% points refunds on flights. Without question I am a travel points fanatic. The benefit is a key component to my travel agenda, using it everywhere from booking rooms to flights. Combining great cards with strong points earning capability is a great way to add more options into when and how you book. One of the best cards in my arsenal, the American Express Business Platinum, just got a whole lot better with the offering for flights and it is just too good to not share. The AMEX Business Platinum was already a go to of mine because it is benefit packed. For instance, they frequently offer special offers that you can enroll in for discounts and rebates on purchases at stores and restaurants you already visit. Additional card holder benefits include access to the Centurion Lounge when you travel, reimbursement for TSA pre-check enrollment, and a refund of discretionary charges at your airline of choice. When you use them all of these benefits quickly add up above and beyond your annual fee. Before the new flight bonus it was a toss-up if it made more sense to transfer my points to United and book reward travel or purchase a ticket with points on the AMEX website. Now there is no question booking with points gets you flying at essentially half the price.

Now if this is sounding too good to be true, I understand as I nervously waited after my first booking to see if a refund would indeed happen. I learned though that the points refund happens about 24 hours after booking, probably in line with their 24 hour free cancellation policy, and then voila the points are back in your account. There are of course a couple of drawbacks, as nothing in life is perfect. First you need the available funds in the account as the flight is first charged and the points are used to pay on your credit account after booking. The second is that you need points and lots of them. Using the card for purchases and then transferring the payment immediately has worked for me as the card is not a revolving account so it could result with a very sad billing statement if you don’t do some checks and balances on your spending. Lastly the bonus is on your airline of choice that you enroll with AMEX either at activation or annually so choose wisely on an airline that is convenient for your city. All in all though the points bonus is the truth and really gives you more for less.